Professor Kaouthar Lajili to Lead Study of Firms’ Risk Disclosure Behaviours in Canada and Germany

Professor Kaouthar Lajili and her colleagues will examine corporate operational and business risk disclosure practices in Canada and Germany in the years leading up to and following the 2008 financial crisis. The research will shed light on the foundations of risk disclosure behaviour, and the potential links between risk exposure choice and risk management decisions. The findings will provide valuable insights into what firms actually disclose on operational and business risk and what drives that disclosure and its consequences, especially in turbulent economic times.

Professor Lajili will collaborate with Daniel Zéghal of the Telfer School and Michael Dobler of Technische Universität Dresden in Germany. As the researchers note, Canada and Germany are well-chosen for comparison, countries with advanced risk disclosure practices that have differences in their economic background, regulatory traditions and financial reporting regimes.

The findings will provide information for new or improved guidelines on how to report on risks and provide evidence for potential links with organizational performance and governance. That will be of interest to standard setters and regulatory bodies, investor and mangers. The study can also further inform and help to improve international financial reporting initiatives in terms of risk reporting and disclosure.

The project is funded by the University of Ottawa’s International Research Acceleration Program (IRAP) and the Telfer School of Management.